Her Unexpected Romeo
by Gemma-writes
Summary: The newest generation of Potters, Weasleys and Malfoys collide on September first, Rose's, Albus' and Scorpius' first day at Hogwarts. When Rose and Scorpius meet, will they be too blinded by their families' prejudice to form friendship?
1. Hogwarts At Last

"So that's little Scorpius," said Ron under his breath. "Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains." Rose nodded vaguely, not looking toward the Malfoy family, now trotting away toward the opposite end of the scarlet train before her. She gazed rapturously at the scene before her, only distantly aware of her mother chiding her father.

Finally, after all her parents' talk of secret passageways and ghosts and tiny professors, of ancient, singing hats and wand movements that would cause an eruption of small, yellow canaries, Rose would be going to Hogwarts. Her hand brushed against her brand new school robes as her father placed a hand on her shoulder, saying "Don't get _too_ friendly with him though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood." Again, Rose nodded in a dreamy sort of manner, still imbibing the prospect of the adventures that lay before her. She bounced excitedly on the balls of her feet as James hurried back to their party, speaking quickly and, to her, incoherently about Teddy Tonks and her cousin, Victoire. After what seemed a large span of time, Harry, James' father, consulted his watch.

"It's nearly eleven, you'd better get on board," he said, storing his hands in his pockets and looking around at them all. Rose, beaming, pecked her parents on their cheeks, gave her curly-haired brother, Hugo, a one-armed hug and dashed forward, her luggage cart banging in front of her. She was met by Victoire at the door, a shining prefect badge gleaming on her chest. Her silvery hair shimmered in the autumn light and illuminated her pearly teeth.

"Rosie!" she exclaimed brightly. "Cette façon; this way, or you won't get a good compartment!" Rose thanked her fleetingly and sped up the steps into a long hallway where students in muggle-clad attire were congregated. Heart swelling, Rose set off down the hall, looking into each compartment for a place for her to sit. The loneliest compartment she came across was occupied by a boy about her age with white-blond hair and a pale face. Rose tentatively slid the compartment door open and poked her curly-brown head inside.

"Hullo," she said softly looking toward the boy. He looked up sharply from his knees into her freckled face and gave her a sort of half-willing wave. Rose frowned a little at her less than welcome greeting. "May I sit down?"

"Sure," was all the boy managed and leaned his head against his the window. Rose open her mouth once more but was interrupted by James, who half fell into her compartment, cried "Come on! Let's go wave everyone g'bye" and grabbed Rose by the arm, pulling her away from her luggage and the gloomy boy. Rose hurtled out of the compartment, tripping a little on her robes and flung her head out the window, waving to her family and the Potters. She watched as Albus scampered hurriedly into the train and a loud, high-pitched whistle blew over the goodbyes of parents and students.

Rose did not wait for her parents to slide away from view, but returned to her compartment where the boy sat, gazing out the window with fearful gray eyes.

"Sorry about that," said Rose when she entered the compartment once again. "I was just saying goodbye to my mom and dad and brother." When he did not answer, Rose frowned a little. "So, why didn't you say goodbye to your family?" The boy glanced in her direction.

"I didn't want to," he mumbled, slouching ever more in his seat.

"Oh." Rose pulled on her father's old trunk handle and yanked it upward. The initials _RBW_ glinted feebly in the fluorescent lighting. Arching her back, she attempted to raise the trunk to the trunk space above, but was easily conquered by its weight. Staggering, Rose felt some added support from the other side of the trunk.

"Thanks," she grunted to the boy and together they lifted the trunk up into its holding place. Rose saw the boy nod modestly.

"Whose trunk was that?" he asked as he reseated himself by the window. Rose smiled, grateful for some conversation.

"My dad's. We have the same initials, so he said I could have it." The boy nodded again.

"What's your name?"

"Rose Bernadette Weasley. My dad's is Ron Bilius Weasley. See? They're the same! What's your name?" The boy frowned at this questions; he paused for a moment, cocking his head slightly as if wondering if she could be trusted with something so personal. At that moment, dark-haired little Albus stumbled into the compartment, breathless and fearful.

"Rosie!" he cried, looking relieved. "Hi, I've been looking all over for you. James says I can't sit with him, can I sit with you?" Rose looked over to her nameless companion.

"Would you mind?" she asked apologetically. Still frowning the boy shrugged and looked out the window as Albus took a seat next to Rose. "Anyway," she said, directing her attention back onto the boy. "What's your name?" The boy hesitated again, flashing his gray eyes upon Albus' green and then onto Rose's blue.

"Scorpius Cygnus." Albus seemed to sit up straighter at this. He narrowed his eyes slightly.

"That's a really-" Rose began.

"You're a Malfoy?" Albus shot at the boy; he nodded, looking slightly bewildered. Albus's mouth became thin and his eyes darted upon Rose, who was shooting Albus a curious look. "Rose, come on, let's go find another compartment," he muttered reaching for Rose's hand.

"Albus, what's the matter with you? I don't want to leave," Rose said, looking indignant and withdrew her hand from his.

"Rose." Rose looked up at the sound of her name, spoken with quiet tenderness and sympathy. Scorpius was looking paler than usual and his face seemed strained. "Go on. He's right; our…our families don't mix." Rose crossed her arms and leaned farther into her seat, determined not to be ordered about by anyone.

"I don't care," she said defiantly. "If you have a problem with it, Al, you go on. I'm staying." Now it was Albus' turn to look strained. "Don't you worry about me. I'll be fine." Albus hesitated a moment, glancing between Scorpius and Rose. Rose raised her eyebrows at him and he left, closing the compartment door with a small click. Looking back to her companion, Rose saw that Scorpius was grinning.


	2. A New Malfoy

"This should mix things up a bit," Scorpius said, looking, with an amused expression on his face, toward the door that Albus had just departed. Rose smiled.

"Oh? Why's that?" Scorpius sat up, eager, it seemed, for conversation at last."Rose, our families are more or less mortal enemies!" he said with a laugh. "I know my parents will murder me when they find out we're friends." Rose was taken aback and looked at him in sincere shock.

"No, we're not mortal enemies, Scorp…or, are we? Oh my gosh, maybe your right!" she said, her hands flying to her pink cheeks. "I can't believe it; I really can't picture my mother hating you or your family." Scorpius smirked a little and Rose was reminded, against her will, of her father's description of Draco Malfoy, with his constant and mocking sneer.

"I _know_ my father hates your family, no offence," he added quickly. "Its really horrible what he says, though. And, obviously, it can't be true, not now that I've…" His voice trailed away, his cheeks reddening; Rose smiled sympathetically.

"My father said some pretty nasty things, too, now that you mention it," she said into the silence that followed Scorpius' words. "I'm sorry I believed him, Scorpius. Anyone who was as bad as my father said couldn't have come out with a son like you," Rose said to her knees; she felt her ears burn with embarrassment.

"Hey." Rose looked up to Scorpius. "Don't be sorry; your dad, your parents, they're right. My dad is… my entire _family_ is scum. They've got this sort of superior way of thinking about _every_thing. I hate it, I hate living with them," he said bitterly, casting his gray eyes out onto the rapid landscape outside. Trees and ponds were flashing before their eyes before they had time to register their beauty; the train was moving at an almighty speed. "And they expect me to be the same way. Like, I only hang out with my dad's friend's kids, who are just as manipulated and psychotic as _my_ family, and my dad goes on and on about how great Slytherin is and how I have to change the way I think and the way I am so I'll fit in…"

"That's horrible, Scorp."

"Yeah, well…," Scorpius turning back to face her and shrugging. Rose frowned but said nothing.

"So, who are some of these people you hang out with?" Rose asked, tearing away from the thought of Houses, a subject that made her insides squirm with trepidation. Scorpius rolled his eyes and leaned his head back upon his hands.

"They're all dolts; thick-headed, pea-brained idiots without a brain cell to their names. You could find rocks brighter then them," he said at once with a slight smile dangling from his lips. Rose laughed, throwing her head back and allowed her silky, delicate curls to bounce merrily. "People like…"

It was at that moment that the compartment door slid open to reveal three monstrous boys and a dark-haired girl in the front, her oppressing eyes sweeping over to Scorpius. Without a word, she held a small, pale hand up to keep her cronies from entering and swept over to Scorpius, her head held high, her robes whipping about with her movements.

"Scorpius," she said in a superior voice, standing over him with her hands on her hips, her weight placed on left food, her hips following her weight where it led. Her black hair cascaded down her back without restraint and her body was petite but strong and pale. Scorpius did not raise his gray eyes to hers, but kept his hands behind his head, his eyes in an empty corner and a light smirk on his mouth.

"Violetta," he said simply, his eyes darting outside, where it had began to rain. The pale girl sat, her legs crossed and leaned her weight upon her hand.

"Is this is where you've been all this time, Scorpius? Grandfather _did_ ask me to keep a close eye on you, do you not remember? It would do you well not to try to hide from your family at the end of the train with people like…." Her eyes, for the first time, fell upon Rose. Violetta sat up and smiled, her eyes narrowing. "Well, well, Scorpius, you've made friends with a Weasley, have you?"

"How do _you_ know-" Rose began, her ears growing pink.

"Oh, I know all about you, Weasley," Violetta said, raising her chin and surveying Rose with a sneer. "You and your family. Father's a blood traitor, and your mother's mudblood; Hmm, I guess that'd make you a mud-traitor, huh?" Her cruel laugh had only just passed through her lips when there was a loud grunt and the sounds of muffled blows where heard. Rose's eyes widened as she saw Scorpius, a furious visage upon his face, tackling Violetta to the ground. In moments, however, two of the enormous boys, whose faces resembled apes, had pinned Scorpius to the wall, one of them punching him brutally in the stomach. Rose let out a scream, her hands flying to her mouth. She stood and wrapped her arms about the nearest boy's arm, tugging fiercely against his strength.

"_No!_ Leave him alone!" she cried, watching Scorpius' jaw clench and grimace, his eyes closed tightly. Rose beat against the boy's muscular arms, flailing her arms furiously. It only took one swift movement to cease her actions; her arms were suspended, clasped in the fist of the boy who had not even turned his head in her direction. Out of her peripheral vision, Rose saw the third thug helping Violetta to her feet, her superior expression continually stable on her face.

"Goyle, Goyle, he's had enough," she said in cool voice to the boys, who responded at once, releasing Scorpius, who promptly slumped to the floor; Rose's hands remained suspended . "And the Weasley girl, as well, I suppose," she added, carelessly waving her hand. Rose's hands fell to her, she glared reproachfully at the boy, and fell to Scorpius' side, placing a hand on his shoulder. When Rose raised her eyes to the girl again, she and her body guards had resumed their formation, with Violetta standing before her towering cronies.

"I hoped that you wouldn't make this so difficult, Scorpius," she said in a quiet, cool voice. "I won't give up on you, though; you'll come to realize our superiority to people like…" Her eyes swept upon Rose and she smirked. "Well,…we'll be around." Violetta snapped her fingers and led the boys out, her smirk still evident upon her face.

Silence followed her departure.

"Oh, oh Scorpius, you shouldn't…it wasn't necessary, it was nothing," Rose said in a strained whisper. "It was nothing." Scorpius seemed to ignore her and heaved himself upward and re-seated himself.

"Anyway," he began lightly, "people like that. Violetta, she's my cousin, and then those other guys were the two Goyle boys, Cole and Gelar, and then Walker Crabbe."

"But wasn't your father an only child?" Rose injected curiously, still sweeping her eyes over Scorpius as if waiting for signs of need or pain. Scorpius shook his head.

"Nah, after my dad graduated from Hogwarts, my grandparents had another kid and somehow she ended up with dark hair; it must've been from their grandparents or something….And then Dad's sister, Bella, who's named for Grandma's sister, got married and had Vi. She's a piece of work, huh?" Scorpius added, smiling toward Rose. She nodded gravely.

"Are they _all_ like that?" she dared to ask, frowning ever more. Scorpius smile broadened.

"The moment Vi stepped in, you met the Malfoys."


	3. Hanging Around You for a Long Time

A/N: Aright guys, you got me

A/N: Aright guys, you got me. I was going to stop writing fanfiction just because I've been reading other books besides Harry Potter (shocking, I know) and am sort of out of the Potter loop. But after all the reviews I've gotten so far, I've decided to continue this story. Thanks for all you great support!

Over the span of the train ride, Rose and Scorpius had very few visitors, which Scorpius did not seem to mind in the slightest. He grew increasingly shy around those who intruded upon their compartment, and Rose, taking notice in his behavioral change, would hastily shoo their guests away.

The first one to noisily barge into their compartment was James, his hair messily falling over his eyes and gasping slightly in his apparent rush to discover if what Albus had told him was true. There was an awkward silence as he stared shamelessly at Scorpius, his mouth gaping slightly. Rose cleared her throat loudly.

"Hullo, James," she said tersely, shaking him from his shocked trance. "Would like to take a seat, or are you going to bore us with you fish impersonations all afternoon?" James glared icily at Rose as if to accuse of being a traitor, and exited the compartment, slamming the door after him. Rose merely rolled her eyes and returned to hers and Scorpius' conversation as if nothing had happened.

While Rose and Scorpius were trading and collecting famous wizard cards, Victorie slid the door open tentatively and poked her angled face inside.

"Bonjour, ma chérie," Victorie said warmly to Rose, her eyes darting nervously toward Scorpius. "Bonjour." He blushed furiously, but seemed pleased all the same that he had been recognized.

"Hi, Tori! This is my friend, Scorpius. Scorp, this is my cousin, Victorie," Rose said pleasantly, at which point Victorie hugged Scorpius sweetly. Scorpius shook slightly after she released him, a smile quivering on his lips.

"I brought you some of the special food that prefects are allowed, don't tell anyone!" she giggled, revealing a folded napkin bursting with beautiful little cakes and other sweets, exquisite apples that were so polished that Rose could see her reflection independently primping her hair (despite what Rose was _actually_ doing), and a tall bottle of sparking grape fizz that was literally bouncing from bubbles contained beneath the cap.

After thanking her profusely, Scoripus and Rose each receive a small kiss on their cheeks and Victore departed, winking at them as she slid the compartment door closed.

"Wow!" Scorpius exclaimed happily, watching Victorie's silhouette depart through the windowed door. "Not all your family hates me!" Rose laughed, picking up a small, frosted cake.

"I knew not _all_ my family was prejudiced, but she really took to you, Scorp."

"Well, look at me, I'm a regular charmer," he smirked as he watched his reflection in an apple flex his muscles impressively. Rose laughed.

Moments before their arrival at Hogwarts, whose windows were glittering in the distance, Scorpius made Rose wait outside their compartment so that he could dress into his Hogwarts robes. Rose obliged, leaning against the glass as she listened to Scorpius' trunk hit the compartment floor. She had only been waiting for a moment when her two best friends, Jack Higgs, a muggleborn, and Alice Longbottom, the daughter of her family's friend Neville, appeared by her side. Alice was a very faithful friend whom Rose had known since infancy; the two had been inseparable since each could walk, and very little had since changed. The pair had met Jack at a cocktail party that their parents were attending. He was very quickly noticed for his handsome face, and after Rose had failed in setting up Alice with him, they found him quite easy and pleasant to hang out with him and had been close since. Rose hugged them both warmly.

"Where have you two been? I haven't seen you guys all day!" Rose said, looking between the pair, who exchanged glances.

"Come on, Rose," Jack began weakly. "You've been hanging out with Scorpius Malfoy all day, what do you expect?"

"I'm sorry, Rose, but you _know_ where he comes from. How can you even stay in the same room as he?" Alice injected, her straight, brown hair framing her worried face. Rose sighed in an exasperated sort of way.

"I've been getting that same stuff all day. You don't even know him!" Rose snapped at once.

"Neither do you," Alice said calmly. Rose opened her mouth angrily, but Jack cut her off.

"Come off it Rose, we didn't come here to start a row, we came to see you."

"Nothing could have stopped you from coming to see me," Rose said, wearing her annoyance on her sleeve. The train was nearing a crawl's pace as she said this and very soon the corridors were filled with noisy students, all cramming to get near the exit.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Jack offered to Alice and Rose. Alice nodded and began leaving with the flow of the students around her. Jack looked at Rose. "Are you coming?"

"I'll catch up with you at the feast or something. I'm going to wait for Scorpius," Rose sighed, glancing toward the window behind her. Jack walked away slowly, looking back at her as he went, but when she saw she wasn't looking back, he set forward to catch up with Alice who was now far out the door.

Rose impatiently rapped on her compartment door.

"Scorp? Are you ready yet? It's time to go, everyone's getting off the train," Rose called to him through the glass. She heard a low murmuring from inside and slid the door open. Scorpius was sitting down a leather seat, fully dressed, with his eyes down upon his knees. "Come on, Scorpius, let's go." Scorpius looked up at her meekly.

"Go on; catch up with your friends. They miss you. Go be with them," he said very quietly, now looking up into her clear, sweet face. Rose looked at Scorpius as she had found him that afternoon: quiet, secluded, and infinitely humble. She could see bruises coming up on his arms and knew they were blooming beneath his robes. His face seemed to be graying before her, as if all the life was being drawn out of him to say these few words. She remembered Violetta and her immense, brutal cronies and the bright smiles that she and Scorpius had shared that afternoon.

"Now would you stop trying to get rid of me?" Rose said playfully, reaching out for Scorpius' hand, which he took and then stood up. "We spent the _whole_ afternoon together and I'm afraid I'm not very easy to get rid of, so I hope you're not sick of me now! I'm going to be hanging around you for a long time." The pair grinned at each other walked out their compartment, hurrying to catch up with the mass of students congregated outside the steaming Hogwarts Express.

A/N: lemme know what you guys think of this chapter, remember I haven't written in a while!


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